Downfall Of The Weimar Republic Essay

The Weimar Constitution itself could also been seen as a threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic. In the Bundesrat, Prussian seats were elected by those who paid more tax, resulting in it therefore been dominated by conservatives. 17/58 seats in the Bundesrat were from Prussia and had power to veto bills. This in itself mean that any decisions in the Bundesrat were most likely to be that of traditionalist and conservative decisions as oppose to socialist or liberal. Furthermore, the Republic was trying to introduce democracy through this constitution. However, the Kaiser still had enough power to over-rule any decisions, making the system dependent on the abilities and personality of the Kaiser. Such a system would be seem as fundamentally flawed and therefore unable to provide stability and a working democracy. Additionally, the proportional representation voting system meant that a party had to have over 51% of the vote in order to form a government which normally resulted in many coalitions. This also resulted in six different governments coming into power between 1919 and 1923. This meant stability within the Weimar Republic was highly unlikely with so many governments coming in and out of power.

The collapsement of the Weimar Republic was due to many social, political and economical issues within. From its birth it faced numerous political problems, for which the causes were many and varied. These problems included political instability, deep divisions within society and economic crisis; problems were constantly appearing for the new government. The Weimar Republic never really had a stable political party, having a whole six different parties between 1924-1928 does not create stability. Many of these parties were also narrowly sectioned, with messed up

Thus, a series of parties against the Weimar gained power, although through coalition, reducing the power of the already fragile Republic. Here we can see the system of parliamentary democracy was a factor in the collapse of the Weimar. The series of economic crisis’ which affected post World War One Germany assisted in both the fall of the Weimar and the rise of Hitler. The Treaty of Versailles left the country with extremely large debts and when Germany did not keep up with payments, the French responded by invading the Ruhr, an industrial region in Germany, resulting in a general strike and ruining the middle class who would eventually make up the foundation of Nazi supporters.

The Failure of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1928 to 1934 Those in power in Weimar Germany so consistently mishandled the political and economic situation leading up to the period 1928-1934, that a well-structured challenge from the Nazi Party brought about the fall of democracy. This Nazi Party was stronger ideologically, structurally within the party and politically, with Hitler as Fuhrer a major factor himself. In addition, factions within Germany for whom a right-wing political system was more beneficial, such as the army and big business, aided the eventual change in governance. Thus a series of events occurred which can be summarised by these three main factors: failure of the Weimar

In the lead up to the depression the Nazis had 12 seats and just two years later in the peak of the economic crisis the Nazis had 107 seats. This reflects the dissatisfaction that was shown in the present government and the fact that Hitler was the only person who promised the solutions that they people wanted. Many historians have stated that if Stressman had not died in 1929 then Germany may have recovered to its former strength and Hitler may never had the chance at gaining power. From 1930 onwards the country is being ruled by presidential decree through the use of Article 48, so therefore no party could gain a majority for the German economy to get back on its feet. Hitler took advantage of these times of hardship and promised these desperate people what they wanted, employment and a way out of these poverty times. Hitler was the only option left, and is desperate time people look for desperate politics to solve these problems. Weimar

The Weimar republic from 1919 to 1929 had many successes and failures, starting in chaos and ending in relative stability. However, due to individual perspective these successes and failures were often viewed as both successes and failures- not either. Class, political leanings and other moralistic beliefs, primarily influenced the individual's perspectives. Overall, due to the relative stability, (the aim of any government) primarily achieved by Streseman's influence, the successes outweighed the failures by 1929.

The socioeconomic environment of the Weimar Republic, the German Government between 1918 and 1933, was instrumental in facilitating the rise of the Third Reich. The chaotic aftermath of World War I, ending in November of 1918, caused such economic downturn that the people of Germany were desperate for a stronger government, which ultimately lead to Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Weimar Republic, named after the city of Weimar in Germany, where the national assembly took place to draft a new constitution, was the governing body of the German nation. After WW1 in 1918 the leader of the nation, German Kaiser Wilhelm II, abdicated the throne due to civil unrest and a loss of support, which ultimately paved the way for the Republic of Weimar. Once

The Weimar Republic was set up mainly to help Germany out of their economic crisis at that time. Germany lost a lot of its land and the German people very

The collapse of the Weimar Republic can not be seen as solely indebted to the severe economic problems faced during the period of its rule, but consequently it was the economic issues that became a footstep to the ultimate demise of the Republic. Subsequent to Germany’s defeat in the First World War and German Emperor Kaiser’s abdication from power, the Weimar Republic was proclaimed. The Republic that had emerged from the German Revolution of November 1918 would inevitably fall as a result of numerous issues. However, the extent of which economic problems had in the dissolution of the republic, and how these issues caused or came about due to separate concerns faced by the new democratic system became a major contributing factor.

The Weimar Republic would have continued to be a functional government far longer than achieved if not for the defeat of WWI, the economic burdens imposed by the Versailles Treaty, and the flawed Article 48 which all contributed to the down fall of Germany’s first attempt at a legitimate Democracy. This paper will argue that the societal, economical, and constitutional aspects all played a role in the hopeless Democracy Germany attempted which ultimately lead Germany into a totalitarian state that would further shake the world with the rise of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler.

The instability of the newly formed Weimar Republic resulted in a weak government prone to problems, Hitler took advantage of this weakness and introduced a secure alternative. During the hardship of the 1920s and1930s, political incompetence was highlighted, the Weimar Government proved its incompetence time and time again. .The instability of the Weimar Republic was so great that the average life-span of Reich cabinets was from 6-7 months. Their incapability of providing justice to outbreaks of violence, such as political assassinations is one example of the incompetence of the Weimar Republic. When Germany found its self in undesirable economical situations due to the Treaty of Versalles, they printed money to pay off reparations, which resulted in super-inflation. During the period of super-inflation people's life savings became worthless which contributed to the downward circle of a reduction in standard of living. As unemployment rose and people began to afford less and less with their money, people commenced searching for a better alternative to the Weimar Government. Hitler's ability to build upon these feelings whilst offering security, prosperity and full

During the hardship of the 1920s and1930s, political incompetence was highlighted, the Weimar Government proved its incompetence time and time again. .The instability of the Weimar Republic was so great that the average life-span of Reich cabinets was from 6-7 months. Their incapability of providing justice to outbreaks of violence, such as political assassinations is one example of the incompetence of the Weimar Republic. When Germany found its self in undesirable economical situations due to the Treaty of Versalles, they printed money to pay off reparations, which resulted in super-inflation. During the period of super-inflation people’s life savings became worthless which contributed to the downward circle of a reduction in standard of living. As unemployment rose and people began to afford less and less with their money, people commenced searching for a better alternative to the Weimar Government. Hitler’s ability to build upon these feelings whilst offering security, prosperity and full employment, convinced Germany, in a state of disillusionment, to support the nazi party. The Weimar’s instability contributed to the collapse of the Weimar republic provided perfect conditions for the nazi party to rise to power.

To many World War II has been the most devastating war in human history. It

There were various factors that contributed to the failure of the Weimar Republic of Germany and the ascent of Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party into power on January 30, 1933. Various conflicting problems were concurrent with the eventuation of the Republic that, from the outset, its first governing body the socialist party (SPD) was forced to contend with.

Friedrich Ebert took over the Weimar Republic as its first leader, who received resistance from the Freikorps and the Spartacists. While he did, for the most part, defeat the communist threat from the spartacists and the threat from the Freikorps, many were infuriated when on November of 1918 he agreed to sign the treaty of Versailles, dooming all the public to pay the backlash of the armistice and causing them to loathe Ebert and the Weimar republic. Gustav Stresemann, in August of 1923, had taken over the Weimar republic. Many praised Stresemann seeing that he turned the economic problem around and he was competent enough to renegotiate reparations payments. Under his leadership times were prosperous, considering the economy and political stance were both stable, culture was free-spirited, and foreign policy was a great exultation for Stresemann because he was able to reverse some of the terms of the treaty of Versailles and remove British, French, and Belgian troops from the Rhineland. Nevertheless, the government under Stresemann had its downside such as the fact that his policies didn’t seem to cater to the middle class and peasant farmers of the time, many Germans did not like the moral decline that came with the break loose style of the culture, and the fact that Stresemann joined the league of nation infuriated most Germans as it inclined them to infer that he accepted the treaty of